Grasslands Campus

In 1928, 10 acres of land was obtained from Massey University, Palmerston North and with A.H. Cockayne (Director of Fields Division, Department of Agriculture) as Director, the Plant Research Station was established.  Mr Cockayne later transferred to Wellington as Assistant General of Agriculture in 1928, but remained token Director of Grasslands Division.

At this time the staff of Plant Diseases, Entomology & Botany, and Field Crops were either employed by the DSIR or the Department of Agriculture.  This changed with all staff transferred to the DSIR, with a name change to the Plant Research Bureau - Grasslands Division with Enoch Bruce Levy as Director.  The site has had many different additions of buildings over the years; in 1938 a wooden office administration block was built onsite which was to burn down in 1940.  In 1954 a large new section of the campus was built and opened by the then Governor General, Lord Norrie.

The construction of the Hartley glasshouse complex was undertaken by staff in 1958.  Plant Physiology became a Division in 1961, with Ken Mitchell as Director.  A two storey Library and Laboratory wing and an extension to the west wing were opened in 1965.  The Fats Research Laboratory in Wellington amalgamated with Plant Chemistry in 1970 and became the Applied Biochemistry Division.

When DSIR was disbanded in 1992, Government research departments were formed into ten Crown Research Institutes (CRI) (later to be reduced to eight).  The Grasslands campus was transferred to AgResearch Limited.